Radical Chess Coverage Plans Revealed

With the 2013 Candidates Tournament reaching its conclusion in London today, the full extent of future plans for coverage of major events in the World Chess Championship cycle have been revealed.

The organisational rights for the World Chess Championship and associated qualifying events belong to AGON, headed by technology entrepreneur Andrew Paulson.

The "Chesscasting" system used in the coverage of the London Candidates Tournament is just the start of a raft of new ideas to modernise the coverage of chess to appeal to a broader audience.

The Chesscasting metrics used during the Candidates have simply been derived from the computer engine's evaluation of the position, into these factors:

Material

King Safety

Pawn Structure

Mobility

London Candidates coverage showing the position evaluation broken down into factors

.

However, in future events, the players will be wired up to take biometric measurements as well. These should include:

Blood Pressure

Pulse

Skin Resistivity (sweating)

Ultimately the plan is to track eye movements as well, so the audience can tell where the players are looking! Chesscasting's motto is "making the invisible, visible". They're not kidding!

Of course, the organisers will need the approval of the players concerned for this sort of testing, and some may not be happy to have their vital functions measured during a game. So whether such biometric testing becomes a standard part of the internet coverage remains to be seen.

Yes, that one caught me, SonofPearl--although I suppose I could blame its posting on 3/31--but really, isn't it just absurd for these fellows to make such proposals? And even if it weren't, who would be interested in the players' blood pressure except their doctors?

I'm sure if the money is right, the players would cooperate with this kind of monitoring during a game. At last someone is willing to invest in chess competition to make it more appealing to spectators.

Help us finish translating:

We are working hard to make Chess.com available in over 70 languages. Check back over the year as we develop the technology to add more, and we will try our best to notify you when your language is ready for translating!